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Starbucks is launching an in-store music service allowing customers to browse and burn cds using HP tablet computers. They already have licensing agreements with most of the major record labels who love the idea of bridging the gap between the digital and physical distribution channels.They took a...
In a scramble for market share, fast food companies are rapidly and radically shifting and extending their brands to stay relevant to the increasingly health conscious consumer. McDonalds pulled the super-size menu amid some controversy and will roll out apple slices and juice as an option instead...
We have long been tracking the trend of people trying to make video gaming more physical and more social. This stems from a desire among gamers to feel legitimized in their talents by competing and being recognized, as well as a desire to share a sense of community around a game and to physically...
A paradox for car marketers: most people don't test-drive cars that aren't already on their short list. And most people only buy cars they test-drive. So for a car company seeking to get onto the consideration lists of new buyers: how can you get people who aren't yet considering your model into...
Whereas five or ten years ago, PC companies, consumer electronics companies and toy companies each occupied distinct product categories with distinct distribution channels, the recent convergence is hard to miss. The general trend is for PC companies and toy companies on the edges to migrate to...
It's a fact: men are less shy about their vanity than they were even ten years ago. In the media and in social life, the residual 1950's gender role machismo is giving way to a more honest and balanced reflection of what men actually care about. Men do want to look stylish and attractive, and...
The new branded hotels that are popping up are not just another example of licensing gone haywire. These magazine, fashion and lifestyle brands are creating some of the most effective brand immersion experiences since Disneyland. This level of potential in communicating and building a...
Old, established brands often attempt to re-stimulate trial and inject excitement into their otherwise monotonous product offerings by releasing new flavor, color, scent, shape or packaging variations. The claim of a 'limited edition' frequently accompanies these releases, positioning the variant...
The enclosed shopping malls that dot the American landscape were designed, developed and built by real estate-minded management that planned for sales-volume and store capacity but not for harmonious consumer experience. This comes as little surprise to most of us who have noted the bleak,...
Polaroid is wasting the most potent publicity their brand will ever see. How? As every news magazine, website and tv program has reported this week, hip-hop group, OutKast, has a hit song in which they say to 'shake it like a Polaroid picture.' Take a look at how much media attention there is...
Electronic technology innovators used to have a lead-time right after launching their new gadgets, when they could sell at a premium price to early adopters. These companies could rest comfortably knowing that, in a year or so, they could lower the price and sell that technology to the much more...
Some quick gems we would like to share:The circular life is an online art installation piece that gives an interactive view of a single day of life in five different locations around the world.Click here to launch the site.Warner Brothers is going to turn Global Frequency, a very subversive and...
History shows us that the parts of consumer technology that will change the fastest are the roughest edges: the most unintuitive and irritating aspects. These will receive adequate R&D money and will be the points of improvement upon which companies will innovate and compete.Often, however, these...
The same way we've all learned to filter out junk email and telemarketing pitches, teens and young adults have learned to filter out most marketing communications that target them. If an ad tries too hard and oversells, they register the failed attempt, filter it out and then have a lower...
Ever-growing product selection and consumer choice is creating a backlash in some retail categories as stores lose what was once at the core of their value to consumers: an editorial POV. Historically, consumers counted on their chosen retailers to make informed, sophisticated, tasteful...